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Domain: freeutopia.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to freeutopia.org.

Comments · 7

  1. Re:Comcast can go suck a... by Penguinisto · · Score: 1 · on Comcast Wants To Charge Broadband Users More For Privacy (dslreports.com)

    They tried that a long time ago (see also Utah's UTOPIA initiative), but they didn't get very far before Comcast and Qwest (now part of Centurylink) both brought suit against the State Legislature to squash it. The legislature happily compromised, saying that UTOPIA was not allowed to expand beyond the neighborhoods it already existed in. It currently still exists in a somewhat crippled form: https://www.freeutopia.org/

    Go figure, right?

  2. Re:This Just In! by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Informative · on How Big Telecom Smothers Municipal Broadband

    "people"? You misspelled "legislators" - in 2003/4, Qwest (now CenturyStink) and Comcast went nuts and brib^M convinced Utah legislators to abandon the UTOPIA multi-city municipal broadband project, then they began slathering on lawsuits and threats thereof.

  3. Re:Should have been the University of Utah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1 · on Unanimous: Provo Utah Council Approves Google Fiber

    That is why the community should own the wires or they should be regulated as a utility. Then access can be leased to competing ISPs.

    The UTOPIA project pioneered the model (though they also showed a lot of early mismanagement), but it is now being proven by other communities across the country.

    http://www.utopianet.org/
    http://www.freeutopia.org/

  4. Re:Same is not good enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on How Google Fiber Could Do Some National Good, Or At Least Scare the Carriers

    Not like this is the first time that's ever happened...

    Truth is, the carriers/cablecos go out of their flippin' way to sue if there's even the faintest glimmer of competition, from nearly every source.

    Personally, I'd vote in (as officeholder-for-life) the first politician who put in a law requiring at least two competitors for each type of ISP access (2 cable, 2 DSL, 2 fiber, 2 wireless, 2 whatever-they-think-up-next), with no monopolies.

    A big issue with this is the lines are usually owned by the company that uses them. If you did double, you would need double the wires and poles.

  5. Re:Same is not good enough by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Interesting · on How Google Fiber Could Do Some National Good, Or At Least Scare the Carriers

    Not like this is the first time that's ever happened...

    Truth is, the carriers/cablecos go out of their flippin' way to sue if there's even the faintest glimmer of competition, from nearly every source.

    Personally, I'd vote in (as officeholder-for-life) the first politician who put in a law requiring at least two competitors for each type of ISP access (2 cable, 2 DSL, 2 fiber, 2 wireless, 2 whatever-they-think-up-next), with no monopolies.

  6. Re:Average is 33 megabits .... from who? by TheWingThing · · Score: 1 · on Sandy, Utah Tops US Cities For Broadband Speed

    It is a bit bizarre that so many cities rejected joining up to have the most advanced residential fiber network in the nation built in them. (Granted, a lot of them dropped out due to telecom pressure, but still.)

    There was a lot of FUD by Qwest and Comcast, and the council idiots succumbed to it. This might reveal some info: FreeUtopia

  7. This isn't much of a surprise by ElForesto · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Utah Bans Keyword Advertising

    ... at least for those of us living here in Utah. They've caught a bit of flak from members of the Bloghive in these parts, especially with the hackjob responses they've got going on. Of course, these are the same guys who tried to get a special E911 tax on VoIP and almost passed statewide franchise agreements, so you've got to know they're not entirely with it.